1996 Passat Cat Converter Problems

[lacey]

Hi There

A few days ago I noticed my exhaust had become very noisy. On closer inspection it appears to be coming from the catalytic converter. There appears to be a threaded port coming out of the drivers side of the converter towards the rear approx 8mm in diameter. The trouble is there is nothing covering it so it is acting like a big hole in the exhaust. My question is what normally goes over the end of it ?????? can I just blank it off ?????? any one out there with any ideas ? Thanks

[lpg boy]

could it be a mounting lug for the heat shield broken/sheared off?
if so,screwing a bolt in could destroy the cat matrix as it fully occupies the large bore section. another solution would be necessary.